Paper feeder



A., oLsoN PAPER FEEDER Fiid oct. [212.' 1925 fr .1,

l fr q.

I4 zo 1l W Q -S-f Patented 'Apr'. 26, 19127. i

UNITED STATI-:s

attesa 'PATENT oFF-lcs.

ANDREW oDsoN.- or' CLEVELAND, omo, AssIeNon ro THE CLEVELAND FOLDINGMACHINE COMPANY, or CLEVELAND, oHIo, CORPORATION or omo'.

PAPER FEEDER.

Application led October 21, 1925. Serial No. 63,883.

This invent-ion relates to paper feeders and more particularly to thetype of feeders known as pile feeders in which the' sheets of v paperare delivered successively from the top of the pile. In the printing art1t 1s well known that, after the sheets have been printed, the variousparts of a pile vary 1n height due to the embossing effect of theprinting as well as the layer or ink that is applied to the sheets sothat, when several thousands of sheets are arranged 1n a pile, afterprinting, the top of the pile has an irregular` shape which introducescertain diiliculties in feeding the sheets from the ile to a printingpress, folding machine or ot er apparatus. To overcome thisA diculty, ithas heretofore been customary to insert wedges between the bottom of thepile and the feed table for the purpose of leveling up the front edge ofthe pile, at the tolp, in order that the top sheet may be proper ypresented, to the sheet-delivery mechanism. In practice, it has beennecessary to stop the feeding mechanism, at intervals, for the purposeof adjusting these wedges, thereby reducing the output and, to someextent, 1ncrease the cost.

vIt is an object of the present invention to rovide means on the feedtable for conveniently and quickly adjusting the pile and to lhave suchmeans automatically adjusted as the pile is depleted in order to avoidthe delays incident to the use of the above-mentioned wedges and also tomake the feeding mechanism more fully automatic.

Other objects of the invention and the features of-novelty will beapparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a pile feeder, embodying myinvention;

Fi 2 is atransverse section thereof on the llne 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is anenlarged fragment of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. I

Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates the frame of the feeder and 11the table on which the pile of sheets is arranged, this table beingvertically movable by any suitable mechanism, such as the chains 12,which 'are suspended from sprockets 13 on shafts 14, these shafts beingactuated by any suitable means such as the worm-gears 15 and .20, so asto the worms 16, the latter being arranged on a cross-shaftv 17 which isdriven by any suit able source of power as by means of the gear 18. Itwill be understood that any of the usual forms of mechanism'for movingthe table 11 may be used. Below the shaft 17, there is a shaft 19carryin a feed wheel o r wheels 20, of any preferre type, for dellvermgthe'sheets, in succession, from the top. of the p1le 21 to thesheet-carrier which 1s indlcated diagrammatically at 22, thissheet-carrier being for the purpose of feedlng the sheets to a printingpress, folding machine or any other apparatus.

its previously described, a pile of sheets which have been previouslyprinted would be uneven at thel top and it is, therefore, necessary toraise portions of the front edge of the pile, below the feed wheel orwheels Vproperly present the top sheet of the pile to these feed wheelsand, in order to level up the top of the pile, along its front edge, Iprovide cams 23, in suflicient number to suit the conditions, theseVcams belng arranged in slots '24 in the front edge of the feed table 11,each being independently mounted on a bracket 25 that is secured to theunderside of the table 11 by bolts or screws 26. The brackets 25 carrybolts 27 on which the cams 23 are pivotally mounted and, in order tohold the cams in their adjusted positions, I provide springs 28 betweenthe heads of the bolts 27 andthe cams to press the latter against thebrackets 25, the cams being thus frlctionally held.

It will be apparent that, as the pile is depleted by removal of sheetsfrom the top thereof, the height of the parts of the pile, thatl areengaged by the cams, above the table 11, must be reduced in order tokeep the top of the pile substantially level and to properly presentthe'top sheets to the delivery wheels. I, therefore, provide means forautomatically adjusting the cams, such. means, in the form of theinvention illustrated, consisting of a transversely `extending bar orrod 29, which is supported in a sta- IMD such means should preferably,be adjustable for the purpose of varying the elevation of the bar 29 tosuit the different conditions that are met with in practice.

' As thetable 11 is raised, to maintain the top of the pile in properrelation to the feed wheels 20, the extensions or tails 33, on the cams23, engage the bar 29, as shown in Fig. 1, and gradually .rotate thecams, in a counter-clockwise direction, as the table 11 continues torise. This results in lowering the arts of the pile, which engage thecams, until they finally rest upon the table 11, the mechanism operatingto automatically adjust the cams 23 in accordance with the depletion ofthe pile, so that by the time the bottom sheets of the pile reach thelevel of the delivery mechanism, the cams 23 will have been sutlicientlyrotated, or withdrawn from engagement with the sheets.

,lVhile I have illustrated what I now consider to be the preferred formof the invention, it is to be understood that the details ofconstruction illustrated in the drawings and described herein, aremerely for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the inventionand that these various details are subject to change Without departingfrom the spirit of the invention which is defined in the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In feeders, the combination of a pile table, means for movlng saidtable, means for delivering sheets from a pile on said table andindependently adjustable under the pile of sheets for the purpose ofproperly presenting the top sheet of the pile to .said delivering means,and means cooperating'with said members to automatically adjust them asthe pile is depleted.

2. -In feeders, the combination ofl a pile table, means for moving saidtable, means for delivering sheets from a pile on 'said table, one ormore members carried by saidv table and independently adjustable underthe pile ofA sheets for the purpose of roperly presenting the top sheetof the pilefto said delivering means, and adjustable means adapted tocooperate with said members to` automatically withdraw as the pile isdepleted.

3. In feeders, the -combination'of a pile table, means for moving saidtable,means for delivering sheets from a pile on said table, one or morecams carried by said table and adjustable under the pile for the purposeof properly presenting the top sheet of thepile to said deliveringmeans, and stationary means ada them from the pile ted to be engaged bysaid cams and gradual y adjust them as the pile 4 is depleted.'

4. In feeders, the combination ofva pile table, means for moving saidtable, means. for delivering sheets from a pile on said table, one ormore frictionally held rotatable cams carried by said table and'projecting therethrough to support a part of the pile above the tableso as to properly present the top sheet to said deliveryl means, andadjustable means engaged by said cams to automatically rotate them tolower said part of the pile relative to the table as the pile is deleted. v

n testimony whereof, I hereunto aix my' signature.

- ANDREW OLSON.

